Chart-board



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES S, SHEPHERD, OF CAMBRIDGE, MARYLAND.

CHART-BOARD.

SPECIFIATIVON forming part of Letters Patent No. 511,552, dated December 26, 1893. Application filed August 5, 1893. Serial No. 482,468l (No model.)

To all whom/ it may concern.-

Be it known that I, J AMES S. SHEPHERD, of Cambridge, in the county of Dorchester and State of Maryland, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Chart-Boards, of which the following is a' specification.

The object of my invention is to provide a holder or frame for charts, which are usually kept in a roll, and to spread or open said chart and keep it so displayed that easy and ready reference may be had to the same.

To this end my invention consists in the peculiar construction and arrangement of the parts of said holder or frame, which I will now proceed to describe with reference to the drawings in which- Figure lis a plan View; Fig. 2, au edge view from the end; Fig. 3, an edge view from thev side, and Fig. 4 is an enlarged sectional detail of one of the clamp springs.

The main frame of the holder is made of `wood, and is preferably constructed of five pieces put together as shown in Fig. l. The 'two longest pieces A A form the sides, and the three other pieces B VB B are'lapped, one each, at the top and bottom two inches from the ends of side pieces, the third cross` piece being similarly connected to the sides half way between the two pieces just mentioned. All these parts are secured at the lap with a brass plate ot screwed to the frame with'brass screws, brass screws being exclusively used in the construction on account of the compass on ship-board. On this frame are secured, by one screw each six slightly arched Hat `brass clamps or springs b, about three-fourths of an inch wide, fastened on the brass plates on the front side of frame, the one screw to each of these springs serving to render them pivotally adjustable as hereinafter described. The four end clamps are each, ordinarily, three inches long, and t-he two on the middle section are two inches long. These dat spring clamps b have each formed in their ends opposite their spring ends a concave recess r on the under side, which is adapted to lock over the convex heads of the tacks t which serve to lock the spring in its two positions at right angles to each other. There are also secured to the sides ofthe main frame two circular roll keepers c. These keepers are connected l in pairs by a strip of brass c of the same width and thickness of keepers c, running across the frame, and called guides or wind-strips. t0 guide or keep the chart in a flat condition on the holder when unrolled, and to make said chart enter the opposite keepers c without the necessity of touching or guiding the same with the hand. These strips c are 6o not always necessary and may be omitted in the use of the chart board when the latter is not exposed to the winds, as when used exclusively in the chart room. These keepers and wind strips are secured to the frame by screws so as to make a firm connection, and they are located a short distance from the tops and bottoms of theside pieces.

The operation of the device is as follows:

When the chart is placed in one side of the 7o frame in the circular keepers, it is unrolled and extended along under' the wind strips until it reaches the small clamps b, and if it is desired to hold or stop the chart for reference, the same is placed under the said small 7 5 or flat clamps, and so held until another part of the chartis needed. Thente other circular keepers c come in play, and the flat or small clamps are turned one side. This is continued until the chart is no' longer required, 8vo

when it is taken from the opposite keepers from those in which it was placed before the operation. The object in placing the circular keepers c some distance from the top and bottom of the frame is to accommodate charts that are narrower than the length of the holder, thereby doing away with the necessity of many different sizes of holders.

It will be understood that my inventidn is not limited to holding charts only, but may 9o be used for holding any long drawings, maps, or similar delineations that-are rolled.

I prefer to use a light sectional frame as shown, but if desired a plain dat drawing..

board may be used in place -of the sectional frame. This frame or holder is not made of The objectof these strips is, 55

so4 thattliey possess some elasticity or resilience, but this is not absolutely necessary. It it is desired to use this holder for wall purposes the same is provided with brass loops on the lower side of the side of frame to hang on nail, or the same can be hung up when not in use at all.

I am aware that a writing tablet has been provided, at one end only, with a housing to hold a roll of paper, and that drawing boards have been provided with spring clips to hold the sheet of paper, and I make no claim to `any such construction.

I am also aware that in a device for keeping and showing abstracts of title, two rollers have been arranged upon opposite sides of a board, around which rollers a flexible map is wound, and which rollers are covered by a continuous housing arranged below the level of the board.

Myinvention is distinctive in the following respects: The keepers are arranged above the level ofthe board, so that the chart rolls inwardly in the natural way to inclose and protect the delineations on the same. There are furthermore no axialwindingrollers,the rolled chart being held by its expansive frictional contact Within the keepers, and the `keepers themselves are not a continuous housing, but are separated and detached keepers so that the rolled chart may be seized and handled at a point between them, to roll up or unroll the chart, thus doing away with all necessity for special means of feeding or takngnp thel roll, and greatly simplifying and cheapening the device.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

l. A chart board or holder consisting of a frame having permanently attached upon each side, and above the level of the frame, a pair of keepers to embrace and hold the rolled chart, the said keepers having openings at or near the bottom to permit the ingress and egress of the sheet, and the two keepers of each pair being detached and spaced to permit the handling of the roll between substantially as shown and described.

2. A chart board or holder consisting of a frame having upon each side keepers to embrace and hold the roll, the ends oi. said keepers being connected in pairs across the board by guides or wind-strips cf ,substantially as and for the purpose described. y

3. A chart board or holder, consisting of a frame having upon eachside keepers to embraceandhold the roll with openings at or near the bottom to permit the ingress and egress of the sheet, and having also along its sides flat spring clamps substantially as shown and described. Y 1, i y

JAMES S. SHEPHERD. Witnesses:

JOHN A. FoUNTArN, THOMAS P. BARNETT. 

